The NXZ 50 climbed by 23 points, or 0.2%, to 13,143 in Friday morning trade, moving up from its lowest level in two weeks, touched the day before. The rise tracked an upbeat session on Wall Street overnight, supported by the Fed rate cuts and indicating two additional cuts before the end of the year. Optimism increased following a statement from New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who reiterated on Friday that he has huge confidence in Nicola Willis as finance minister and in economic growth. On the data front, the country’s trade gap narrowed in August compared to the same month last year, despite being larger than expected. Communication services, utilities, and industrials mainly drove the index, with notable gains from F&C Investment (0.9%), Ebos Group (0.8%), ANZ Group (0.5%), Delegat Group (0.5%), and Auckland International Airport (0.4%). However, the index is heading for a 0.6% weekly fall after being flat the previous week amid disappointing GDP results.